The 2026 World Cup is coming to North America with an ambitious plan, expanding the field by 50% and spreading the soccer spectacle over 16 cities in three countries with multiple climates and elevations.

FIFA, aiming to create the perfect pitch for every venue, partnered with turf experts at the University of Tennessee and Michigan State University to research and develop the best surfaces for the tournament.

Kylian Mbappé remained scoreless and defending champion Real Madrid settled for a 1-1 draw at Las Palmas in the Spanish league on Thursday.

Mbappé, Madrid's biggest signing in years, is yet to score in the league this season. His only goal with Madrid came in the team's UEFA Super Cup victory against Atalanta earlier this month.

Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner flashed their No. 1 form on Thursday with powerful performances that moved them into the third round of the U.S. Open.

Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka couldn't quite find the games that once had them on top of the rankings.

The brother of a boxer who had just won a bout punched the opponent's trainer in the ring in a chaotic post-fight melee at Sydney Arena late Wednesday.

Michael Zerafa received a TKO win when opponent Tommy Browne quit due to a biceps injury after the first round of the catchweight bout.

You could say he has slotted in just fine.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has selected Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller to his first squad since the retirements of Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer and İlkay Gündoğan.

Stiller, a 23-year-old midfielder who helped Stuttgart to its best ever points total in the Bundesliga last season, is the only new face in the squad for Nations League games against Hungary and the Netherlands.

Just weeks after hosting the Olympics, Paris inaugurated the 2024 Paralympics on Wednesday with a nearly four-hour-long opening ceremony in the heart of the city.

Against the backdrop of a setting sun, thousands of athletes paraded down the famed Champs-Elysées avenue to Place de la Concorde in central Paris where French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the Paralympic Games open.

Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 15 straight Grand Slam matches with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Li Tu on Tuesday night in the first round of the U.S. Open.

The No. 3 seed from Spain won the French Open and Wimbledon titles earlier this year, giving him four major championships. If he can add another U.S. Open title to the one he captured in 2022, Alcaraz would join Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010) as the only men to capture those three Grand Slam titles in the same year during the Open era.

A year ago, still on maternity leave and still unsure when she would play elite tennis again, Naomi Osaka visited the U.S. Open to appear with Michael Phelps for a discussion about mental health. While at the site, she sat in the stands to watch one of Coco Gauff's matches.

Osaka also already was thinking about being back on a court at Flushing Meadows, so much so that she was pondering what she might want to wear to compete. And there she was Tuesday at Louis Armstrong Stadium, overpowering No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 while decked out, from her visor to her dress to the bows on her back and attached to her shoes, in lime green — the color of this " Brat " summer, as it happens (IYKYK) — and playing very much like a two-time champion at the place and a former No. 1-ranked star.

Italy winger Federico Chiesa expressed his happiness at starting a "new adventure" amid reports he is about to join Liverpool from Juventus.

There was footage in the Italian media of Chiesa arriving at an airport ahead of reportedly getting on a private flight to England.